Crescent Moons and Whisker Marks
by xMysterious Darknessx
Summary: Inuyasha discovers the true meaning behind Sesshoumaru’s demon markings and realizes just how little he knows of his foggy past… Inucest. Rating will go up in later chapters...
1. Dreamlike Prelude

**Crescent Moons and Whisker Marks**

* * *

InuyashaxSesshoumaru

* * *

Inuyasha discovers the true meaning behind Sesshoumaru's demon markings and realizes just how little he knows of his foggy past… Inucest.

* * *

"Where's Inuyasha?" came Kagome's pestered voice as she crossed her arms in aggravation. She'd been looking for that stupid dog all evening, calling out "Sit!" practically a million times before giving that up.

Sango shrugged and looked to Miroku.

Miroku just bent his face so as to rub his forehead as if he were somehow tired by the thought, "That mutt..."

Shippo jumped up on Kagome's shoulder. "Hey, who cares? He does this all of the time! He'll be back by sunrise, Kagome," Shippo said in his annoying high voice, trying his best to be encouraging. When that didn't work, he added, "Plus, we're better off without him, all he does is get on your nerves Kagome while he's here—and hit me a lot!"

Kagome ignored this and sat herself upon a nearby rock, resting her chin upon two small, fragile fists. "I know," she said though she didn't mean it, her voice sounding distant. "I just wonder what he's doing right now..."

X

Inuyasha sped through the forest, leaping from tree to tree ever so swiftly, his nose pointed straight forward. He knew that scent... the one that made his ears twitch uncontrollably; the one that, while it screamed demonic aura, he just couldn't find the strength within himself to stay away. The ever so mysterious smell of Lord Sesshoumaru himself.

Being half-dog as well, Sesshoumaru knew perfectly well he was going to have company very soon due to his even keener sense of smell—it totally trumped Inuyasha's measly half-demon powers.

"Rin, Jaken," he began, stopping his two 'servants' in mid-step. "There's a hot spring just up ahead. Why don't you go enjoy it, I feel like a short rest." He was careful to articulate his words to Rin's understanding. Rin seemed to take it rather well—her small face brightening before she hurriedly grasped Jaken's green, fish-like hand. "Cool! Let's go, Jaken! Come on, come on!" she rushed the poor green babysitter.

"Lord Sesshoumaruuu...." he whined in a weak protest of sorts as he was dragged away against his will.

Sesshoumaru stood there as he watched the two disappear across the other end of the field. Everything about him completely still, so relaxed and emotionless—well, everything other than his long, silver hair, which waved in the soft breeze. "Such a slow runner you are," Sesshoumaru chuckled to himself as the scent grew at a slow, steady rate.

Inuyasha soon felt his nostrils overwhelmed with the scent and his eyes enveloped in the glow of moonlight reflected off many sleek, shard-like strains of grass as he came to a clearing. There was a strange figure standing with great finesse in the center. The field was quite large and it took a while before Inuyasha registered that it was indeed his target. "I've gotcha now," Inuyasha growled in satisfaction to himself, his fangs gleaming as he smirked. "No running this time."

Despite Inuyasha's beliefs, Sesshoumaru's hearing was quite impressive. Even within a mile's distance, Sesshoumaru could hear the most subtle of hints of a snore. "Run?" he mock-replied, though this was heard solely by himself. "I don't recall running the last time you came to find me..."

As Inuyasha dashed silently, or so he thought, through the field he noticed Sesshoumaru's back was to him, realizing he was at his greatest advantage.

Or his worst. Just as he was about to pounce, his hefty sword drawn and ready to strike, he felt two long, glowing wires slam him back to the ground. "Ah, Inuyasha... what a pleasant surprise," the demon said, turning to face him now. "It's not polite to sneak up on your opponents, you know."

"W-What the hell was that!? And hey, that's not fair--you don't seem the _least_ bit 'surprised', you liar!" Inuyasha shouted at him, enraged. He stuck his sword in the ground so as to get himself back up only to find the two same plasmic wires pressing him still down, cutting into the fabrics on his clothes and though his skin like lasers. "Hey!" he shouted, unsure of himself now, "what are these??"

Sesshoumaru smirked, holding up his hand so as to let his brother view it before retracting them languidly. "My nails," he replied. "You wouldn't understand this, however, for you are only a petty half-demon—blind to the true power resting within you."

"Hah! You want true power? Allow me to properly introduce you to my tetsusaiga!" And with that, Inuyasha was on his feet again in the blink of an eye.

Sesshoumaru smirked. "Well, I assume you're ready then?" he asked, in turn drawing his own sword as well. It was sleeker and perhaps longer than Inuyasha's, but whether or not it was powerful had yet to be discovered.

"Whenever you are—" But before Inuyasha could finish his cocky remark, Sesshoumaru had already plunged for him fiercely. "Oi!" Inuyasha shouted rudely, bringing up his sword just in time to block the hits. "What the hell was that, asshole?"

"You said you were ready," Sesshoumaru countered smartly. "Now who's the liar?"

Inuyasha made a 'tsk' sound between pants, doing his best to block each hit. Finally he managed to get himself on top of the battle as he was pushing Sesshoumaru backwards, their swords clashed. Their faces were barely a foot apart from each other now, breathing heavy—more so on Inuyasha's part—and they stayed strong against one another.

Inuyasha smirked. "My sword's bigger," he bragged, adding even more pressure upon his hold, just knowing Sesshoumaru was bound to falter soon enough.

Sesshoumaru simply smirked. "Yeah, but mine's longer and smoother."

Inuyasha's cockiness soon morphed into anger as he caught the double-meaning behind his brother's words. "You ass," he growled threateningly, his pride hurt. Secretly, though, he wished to test this theory. Suddenly stepping off a bit from the demon, he stepped slightly backwards before leaping into the air, doing a mid-way back flip before directly aiming his sword at Sesshoumaru. "Wind scar!"

Sesshoumaru hadn't seen this coming, but none-the-less was able to dodge it effortlessly, appearing right behind Inuyasha just after landing. "Let us end this," he began. Inuyasha, however, had a different idea.

Propelling himself forwards before turning mid-air he unleashed a different technique. "Adamant barrage!"

Sesshoumaru was easily able to deflect this, once again proving Inuyasha's efforts to be in vain. Throwing his sword, pointy-end forward, at Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru whipped out his nails, sending each of the shards in a different direction.

Inuyasha, in turn, was able to deflect Sesshoumaru's as he put up his own for a barrier. Sesshoumaru's sword ricocheted straight into the earth beside him.

Sesshoumaru once again retracted his claws before starting towards Inuyasha. "Be still, fool," Sesshoumaru commanded. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"I don't trust you," Inuyasha growled. "Stay where you are!" he added as a warning.

But this did not stop Sesshoumaru. In fact, it no effect on him whatsoever. Relentlessly, he approached—and then Inuyasha would have no more. "Alright, you're asking for it!" And with that, he charged.

Sesshoumaru, having foreseen this, outstretched on arm and, summoning his own sword once more, blocked Inuyasha's attack with such force that Inuyasha's tetsusaiga was knocked right from its wielder's grasp. Inuyasha stared down the tip of Sesshoumaru's sword with a mix of shock and defiance.

Sesshoumaru now took it upon himself to approach the boy. As soon as he was within a foot of his half-brother, he dropped his sword completely.

"Attack me, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru commanded, straight-faced.

Inuyasha, wrought with confusion, felt unable to do so, almost immobile. His claws twitched and his fangs quivered at the feeling of complete lack of control. "What...are...you...doing?" he managed to get out with a heavy strain. He watched as his body did as it willed, moving even closer to the demon who stood before him.

"I'm doing nothing, Inuyasha," he replied expressionlessly. Little did Inuyasha know how hard it was for Sesshoumaru top bear with the sight before him…

"You...are...." Inuyasha disagreed as he involuntarily wrapped either arm around Sesshoumaru's neck slowly, Sesshoumaru remaining perfectly still. _What is this? What is he doing to me??_ Inuyasha thought as if in a panic. And then, eyes wide, Inuyasha pressed his lips to Sesshoumaru's. Sesshoumaru, much to his surprise, responded.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes for a brief second to revel in the familiar feel of Inuyasha's lips pressed to his, lightly running his tongue along the Inuyasha's bottom lip. Then he pulled away, and slowly pulled Inuyasha's arms off of him. "Your memories, Inuyasha... Is this not familiar to you?"

Inuyasha felt his throat begin to burn with the impending tears rising in his eyes. "N...No..." he choked out, still not in control.

Sesshoumaru regarded this silently for a moment. "Do you know why I have these markings, Inuyasha?" he asked, his voice still tender as he brought one of Inuyasha's hands to brush his 'whisker' marks on one of his cheeks.

Inuyasha could feel the smooth, cold skin against his palm. It sent shivers down his spine and he felt his eyelids fall shut at the feel of it. He shook his head slowly before re-opening his eyes, expectant for an answer.

"It was not our father who gave me these... It was you," Sesshoumaru said slowly, trying his best to explain it well. "You see, when a demon mates with another demon, or half-demon in my case, the two receive unique markings only shared by each other—however, they do hold genetic resemblance with that of their fore-fathers. You see, dogs like us like to leave a mark, Inuyasha," he paused to lift Inuyasha's bangs from his face. Looking into Inuyasha's curiously wide eyes for a moment longer before leaning in to softly place his lips to his half-brother's forehead. He pulled away sadly and summoned his blade, though not for the reason Inuyasha had at first anticipated. In fact, he had held it up not to behead the poor half-demon or cause harm to him in any other such way, but rather to let Inuyasha examine his newly-exposed markings for himself. "These... are yours."

Inuyasha's eyes widened in shock. _Could what Sesshoumaru had just said really be true...?_

* * *

And so, another attempt at a one-shot goes amiss—I can't stop once I've started, so many ideas! Well, it's up to you guys this time. If you find this the least bit interesting, let me know and I'll be glad to continue it. If not, I've got others to update, I suppose... Anywho, thanks for reading!

MD


	2. Impending Imprint Revival

**Crescent Moons and Whisker Marks**  
Chapter 2  
_Impending Imprint Revival

* * *

_

Morning struck Inuyasha like a carrot to the head; unexpected and slightly bewildering. At first it had been a fairly tired and sloppy morning feeling as he rubbed at his sleep-ridden eyes before remembering the events of last night. He jumped from his formerly content position upon the futon, twisting the sheets which lie beneath him and leaving them in a trampled mess. Not really caring about the fate of the messy bed he stormed out of the room, shoving open the sliding—fragile—paper door, disinterested as to whether it broke or not. "Sesshoumaru!" he shouted with a fresh rage only to find himself face to field with a familiar setting… Kikyo's village. He stared—or glared, rather—and let it all slowly set in. It hadn't only been a dream… had it?

Kagome sighed. "The day's only just begun and he's already in a fussy mood," she complained to Miroku and Sango, who were perched upon either side of a trail-lining fence, munching on breakfast.

Shippo quivered and clung to Kagome's shoulder in visible fear. "Just don't let him direct that anger at me…" Shippo whined, knowing he was likely in for it.

"Perhaps if you want him to stop ragging on you, Shippo, you should train yourself to be passive with Inuyasha," Miroku suggested, always the advice giver.

Shippo would've said something in return like how hard it was to do that when you were dealing with someone as temperamental as Inuyasha but he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off the dog, who was now staring frantically at his hands.

Sango stared curiously. "What's all this about this 'Sesshoumaru' guy? He is Inuyasha's brother, correct?"

Kagome nodded, her oblivious mind thinking of multiple false possibilities.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha couldn't stop staring at his palms. Each had a crimson crescent burning into the lower quarter of the palm nearest the thumb; a waning moon on his right, and a waxing moon upon his left. "What the hell?" he asked, his brows knitting in furious confusion.

He suddenly stopped and remembered the markings from last night—the one's that he had seen in the reflection of the sword. The ones with equal similarity to that of Sesshoumaru's that had stained the tan skin of his face. He ran inside once more, not even noticing the curious stares of the gang as he rushed to find composure. He gasped as he reached the mirror and found the same markings, his eyes rimmed with an inerasable crimson line. He then ran to the bathroom to find the sink, nearly tripping over Kagome's abandoned backpack, which she had so carelessly left in the middle of the hallway. "Damnit, Kagome," Inuyasha grumbled in irritation.

He glared as he stormed into the room, frantically twisting the faucet knobs so as to get some water going. It was hot and it burned is hands but he cared not of the pain as he delved both hands into the water and began continuously splashing his face with the burning liquid. He felt a hand upon his back and he jumped and stopped suddenly, turning to find Sesshoumaru staring back at him with open concern.

Inuyasha's eyes shot open wide in shock before a voice which did not match his brother's came out of his pale lips. "Inuyasha, are you alright?" said a concerned, feminine voice.

Inuyasha blinked and the image was gone. Sesshoumaru was gone. Instead, his stoic form had been replaced by that of the frail girl whom he knew as Kagome—though often he confused her with Kikyo. "Ka…" But before he finished his eyes darted to his palms and then to the mirror, finding not a trace of the strange tattoos.

"What's wrong with you today?" Kagome asked.

"I don't know, I…" Inuyasha struggled to find an answer to that. "I have to go." And with that, he roughly shoved past the girl, ignoring the shriek and the angered "Inuyasha!" which was called as he left.

He stalked right back outside to get a fresh whiff of the air, searching for that one distinct, familiar scent… it wasn't there. He had lost it. Casting his eyes downward in a mix of anger and disappointment, he didn't notice as they gang came up beside him, Shippo just waiting to shout some sort of smart-ass remark at him. He didn't notice as Sango just sighed tiredly and Miroku did his best to hold Shippo tight in his grasp. He didn't notice anything of this until an automatic and involuntary flinch took over his body as he reacted to the words spewed vehemently from Kagome's mouth.

"Sit, boy!" she called, her temper obviously thrown. "Sit, sit, SIT!!"

However, the chain around Inuyasha's neck did not reach as it usually did, did not pulse and force Inuyasha to obey the given command. Instead the beads morphed slowly from deep purple in color to a glorious golden shine before they crumbled into a shimmery pile of sparkling dust. They were swiftly carried away by the wind.

Inuyasha's eyes widened. What was happening? First a—a dream? Then the marks… now this? He was silent, probably a first considering his awfully out-spoken and often impulsive personality. This time around, however, he was speechless.

He could feel the eyes of everyone staring at him in great confusion, their mouths agape, and tension in the air. Kagome was the first to speak. "What… what happened?"

"I was just wondering the same thing," Sango stated, rolling her eyes.

Shippo's eyes widened and he knew he was now defenseless. Inuyasha now had no weakness, save for his time of the month—it seemed he and Kagome had something in common in that area, the fact they both got rather pissy at one time each month. Kagome's aggressiveness tended to last longer and Shippo still had yet to figure out what it was all about. No one would explain it to him. Perhaps she was a half-demon, too? Shippo's mind whirled to find random theories about demons and their weaknesses as his mind drifted further off-track…

Inuyasha finally found the power to speak. "You… broke it…" he said, astonished.

Kagome felt guilty, Inuyasha looked almost… disappointed. "I'm so sorry, I—I didn't mean to—"

"Wouldn't be the first thing she's broken, would it now?" Miroku added. Though he used a rather neutral tone, his eyes could not hide the shock and surprise he felt at that moment. "Though this time I believe it has been for the best."

"Hey, how did you find out about that?" Kagome asked, still wrought with deploring guilt.

Sango and Miroku just stared back at her in disbelief. Who didn't know of the fate of the jewel at the hands of an infamous, clutter-brained schoolgirl.

"Thank you…" Inuyasha whispered. The gang's attention turned, however… he was not speaking to any one of them.

--x--

Sesshoumaru chuckled as the pleasant, autumn breeze blew past him, causing his long, soft hair to whip about in solid waves. "My pleasure," he said, his ears keen to the words of his brother. He had made sure to get far enough away from the half-demon so as to not cause too much of a fuss with Inuyasha's friends. He never much liked them. He wanted Inuyasha all to himself. Perhaps he was selfish, but he had indeed waited a very long time. It was only fair that his claim be everlasting in comparison to their temporary human grasp. It was only a matter of time...

_A demon's imprint cannot not be erased; the joining of souls, not broken by the wrath of eternity. No... it simply has its impurities._

* * *

Yikes. That took much longer than expected but hey--at least it's continued, ne? Anywho, updates should be more timely than this in the future. Sorry for the wait! Comments/reviews are always welcome :)

xMDx


End file.
